​

Almost 15 years to the day of Portal 1's release, NVIDIA is releasing a version of the game that utilizes ray tracing and AI upscaling. Portal with RTX will be free to all existing owners of Portal on Steam, featuring re-done textures and models, and better lighting--all facets of NVIDIA's RTX technology, serving as a remaster of sorts for the classic game. This news also comes with the announcement of NVIDIA releasing their new RTX Remix modding tool, which allows users to take older games and import their assets into the software, making it easier to release graphical mods for older games that wouldn't normally be able to be modded or have its textures altered. Portal with RTX showcases what can be possible with RTX Remix, with visual improvements shown in a trailer, alongside direct screenshot comparisons between older PC games like The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Mount & Blade that benefit from the ray tracing enhancements.

RTX Remix simplifies and accelerates the art remastering process using AI. AI Super Resolution increases the resolution of the extracted textures by up to 4X, turning 1080p-class textures into higher-quality 4K assets. And AI Physically Based Materials scans the game’s environment to add PBR properties to all extracted assets. As demonstrated by these screenshots from TaleWorlds Entertainment's Mount & Blade, a cobblestone floor immediately goes from a flat surface with a basic texture, to a detailed stone surface with a roughness map that interacts with light realistically.​

 

[yoyoyo69]

Bruh.. Now, if they could release a patch/update for the BC version on XSX|S consoles, that would be something..

Different hardware. PS5 and Xbox Series consoles contain AMD hardware, this tech is from Nvidia. We'll only get something like this if Valve/AMD bring it to us (it's not impossible for end user mods to bring this, but unlikely)

 

[shaunj66]

Shiner surfaces. Denser models. More pixels.

Come on, gaming! You used to be cool

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Does this mean it be easier to make graphics mods for stuff like the dolphin or pcsx 2 emulators?

 

[64bitmodels]

Great. Thousands more awful AI upscale texture packs.

How many tens of thousands of terabytes of bandwidth will be wasted on making old games ugly as fuck?

this doesn't even change the textures, it's literally just a lighting overhaul
also, i dunno about you but i consider this an improvement unlike the Quake 2 RTX which was just abysmal looking.

 

[64bitmodels]

Retro is where its at

i'll be pleased to inform you that Portal is a retro game. It came out in 2007

 

[Avalyn]

If this is going to require a 4K card they can go fuck themselves

nvidia should go fuck themselves regardless

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

this doesn't even change the textures, it's literally just a lighting overhaul
also, i dunno about you but i consider this an improvement unlike the Quake 2 RTX which was just abysmal looking.

Modern lighting sucks though. Real time stuff is so bland and boring. There's a light source. Boom.

Hand crafted static lighting was so much better with regards to atmosphere and tone and mood.

Now every game is lit EXACTLY THE SAME.

 

[64bitmodels]

Modern lighting sucks though. Real time stuff is so bland and boring. There's a light source. Boom.

Hand crafted static lighting was so much better with regards to atmosphere and tone and mood.

Now every game is lit EXACTLY THE SAME.

IDK about you, but the newer lighting looks pretty atmospheric to me. In the case of portal, it only compliments the sterile, shiny factory look of the aperture science facility while also being more realistic and dynamic.

 

[Bladexdsl]

add RT to crysis i dare you
this will be the end result

 

[subcon959]

add RT to crysis i dare you
this will be the end result

They did, It's called Crysis Remastered.

 

[vaanen]

IDK about you, but the newer lighting looks pretty atmospheric to me. In the case of portal, it only compliments the sterile, shiny factory look of the aperture science facility while also being more realistic and dynamic.

I actually kind of agree with op. If you see a lot of new games, they look bland. And i am sure this trailer has cherry picked moments. But i wouldnt say to go back to the older method though.

I think we can make rtx look better by fine tuning it after everything is setup, and adding different lighting sources or modifying some rules just for the sake of visuals. In Spiderman RTX, sometimes, if the buildings hide the sun, EVERYTHING looks flat. Almost like shadows disabled. Some may say thats how it looks in real life, but first, this doesnt mean its visually pleasing (having the sun blowing out everything in a landscape makes the view ugly in real life, i dont think anyone wants to see that), and second of all i actually feel it still looks different.

They cant just apply "real lighting physics" and call it a day. Movies also use "real life lighting physics", but they carefully monitor the lighting and make adjustments to makes things visually pleasing to the eye. Most rtx games are still on the former stage, where it looks like they just applied it, put shiny surfaces everywhere and thats it. I think By letting it do most of the work and then manually fiddling with the scenes and scenario we can find the best of both worlds

 

[sombrerosonic]

So RTX portal on switch if this is to be believed?

 

[Avalyn]

So RTX portal on switch if this is to be believed?

no you still need an rtx card for this to work...

 

[gohan123]

With all the nvidia related news, I really wonder how powerful a nintendo switch 2 could get, even with garbage hardware. dlss 3 can just double the fps without doing any strain on the cpu,

 

[sombrerosonic]

no you still need an rtx card for this to work...

Hey stinky, this was a joke.....

 

[krasaty]

Skyrim RTX edition when?

 

[wiiAdventurer]

It'll be very interesting to see how this unfolds. The tech however, is just amazing.

 

[Kran]

If you want to know exactly how many games/which games will be supported by this, I made a list with PCGW. Super exciting tech

edit: this list doesnt filter out 2d games, couldn't figure that out

 

[Kran]

Skyrim RTX edition when?

this should be possible! the original (pre-SE) Skyrim runs DX 9.0c

 

[nolimits59]

i'm gonna be honest i have barely any idea as to how this works but it sounds super cool. A DX9 wrapper pulls assets into a middleman and then re-renders everything in a new viewport??? someone needs to make an in-depth write up id definitely read it even if it's all technical and confusing

EDIT: NVM its metaverse stuff :/

"metaverse stuff", what is this lol, magic isn't real you know.